Romantic Musings
by Kiaros
Summary: Series of one-shots between favorite Bleach couples. Updated/added to at random Thus the "Complete" Status Read, Review, and most of all, Enjoy!


AN: So... lack of major, explicit romance in Not-So-New Beginnings has lead me to vent it here. So I offer you some plot-less fluff as filler, ok? :) R&R, please - Thank you to those who have reviewed the story mentioned above; feedback is always appreciated!

Oh! Sidenote for this tale: Italicized words that are not in English will be explained at the bottom of the page.

**Warning:** Beware of love between men. This will probably become a randomly posted series of one-shots about some of my favorite Bleach couples. Don't read if you don't like!

**Disclaimer: **The only thing in this story that I own is the plot... and the fluff. I suppose I own the fluff too.

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There was a whisper of sound as the door slid shut. Moonlight streaming in through the open window glinted on scarlet hair as the man padded silently over to the huge bed that dominated the room. The room's occupant lay sprawled gracelessly across the bed, wearing nothing but a simple _yukata_. His ink-black locks were splayed around his head, and the _kenseikan_ and _ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu _that marked his rank as a noble were conspicuously absent. For a moment, the intruder paused, slightly confused by the lack of rank markers. A glint of silver on the nightstand beside the bed quickly solved the mystery, though, and the red-headed man continued slowly creeping forward, absorbing the sight of his captain looking so relaxed without the burdens of his rank.

Only to pull up short when a pair of steely gray eyes snapped open, staring straight at his tall frame in the dim light. "Vice Captain Abarai?" the man's voice was still hoarse with sleep, "What took you so long? I thought you said you'd be right back..." His voice drifted off and his eyes drifted even further out of focus for a moment before finally focusing on the red-haired man in his room once again.

For a moment, Renji forgot to breathe. Captain Byakuya Kuchiki was just so damned _beautiful_ when his guard was down. Renji's lungs soon started to protest, though, and he knew he would need to take a breath soon. Just as Renji was thinking this, the expression closed, a cold mask of arrogance sliding into place on the porcelain features. "Vice Captain. Why are you in the bedroom of your superior officer in the middle of the night?" The voice was still slightly rough from sleep, but the tone used was as different from the preceding one as night was from day.

For a moment Renji felt caught, as a deer in headlights might feel, and then he was moving too quickly for the eye to follow, darting for the open window in an attempt to flee the disapproving Captain's gaze. Truthfully, being the Vice Captain of Division Six, and therefore directly under Captain Kuchiki's command, he should have known that his attempt was futile. Captain Kuchiki easily intercepted him before he was even halfway across the open space between himself and escape.

"Vice Captain." Renji trembled at hearing the voice that had been haunting his dreams of late, even as the Captain's iron grip captured his wrists behind his back in such a way that he was effectively immobilized. "Fleeing my room will not change the fact that you were here. All I wanted was a simple answer to the question. Tell me: Why?" The voice was losing some of the scratchy quality of sleepiness and was slowly returning to the smooth, satiny sound that Renji had heard every day of work in the last umpteen years. With that silky voice practically purring commands from behind him, Renji felt his resistance fade as his limbs became as useful as limp, overcooked noodles. The result of his faded resistance was that he ended up slumped in his Captain's arms, leaning against the _yukata_-clad noble, rather than pulling away.

Byakuya's eyes widened in shock at the unexpected contact. "Abarai? Abarai, are you alright?" Concern lanced through the last of the gravelly sounds in his voice. There had been a time when the Captain of Division Six of the Gotei 13 would have simply set him aside, called a healer, and moved on with his life. Not anymore. Since his Vice Captain had apologized to him in the healing rooms at the Fourth Division, the two had become close friends, forming a bond even stronger than that between the other captains and their respective lovers. When Byakuya had finally paused long enough to think about it, he had realized that he was in love with his fiery, crimson-haired subordinate.

He had kept his feelings to himself during all those years, had left the cool and competent mask covering the depth of his emotions in order to preserve the friendship they had formed. So, naturally, when the ever-defiant man stopped resisting and slumped into his grip, Byakuya was terrified. Readjusting his grip to support the tall frame at the waist, he carefully turned his friend in his arms, heart pounding with worry.

Renji's eyes had closed the moment he had stopped fighting his Captain's vice-like grip on his arms. He knew that he could no longer hide his feelings for the man he held in such high regard, and the thought of losing the friendship they had created terrified him. To his shamed horror, he felt hot tears seep from underneath his scarlet lashes, silently coursing their way down his face.

Byakuya stared at the wet trails running unhindered down the lovely tanned cheeks of Renji's face. "Renji?" he said it softly, not wanting to trouble his friend with worry over punishment. "I just..." Renji shook his head, fire-engine-red hair swaying as he did, "I just can't do it anymore, Captain!" Tan, calloused hands somehow wound their way into his raven-colored hair, suddenly yanking the older man down and pressing their lips together in a fierce kiss. All too soon, though, the kiss was broken as Renji pulled away.

Renji's eyes were trained on the floor as he moved out of the Captain's supporting hands. "I'm sorry, Captain Kuchiki, I just... I can't help it. I care about you so much that I -" His explanation was cut short when the Captain gently slid his pale fingers under his chin, tilting his head up.

"It's fine. More than fine." Before he could ask what the Captain meant, he was once again being held by those impossibly strong arms. Soft, pink lips sought and found his own once more, and the two were swept up in a sweet, passionate kiss. When their lungs demanded air, they were forced to break apart once again, but this time he was held close by his Captain, and they simply leaned their foreheads together as they stood still, panting for air. "Renji." The name was spoken softly between quiet gasps for air. He looked up into a pair of dancing gray eyes and was startled by the emotion that he saw in their depths. He had never, even in his dreams of this moment, imagined that his feelings might be returned.

"...Captain?" Byakuya shook his head and Renji frowned.

"Not 'Captain,' please. Not to you." He smiled at the puzzled expression that flitted across Renji's face. "To the ones I love it's Byakuya."

At that simple sentence, the tears that had briefly stopped were once again spilling from Renji's eyes. "You... love me?" The younger shinigami's face lit up in pleasure, even as the tears (this time of joy) continued to flow freely. "Me too!" Arms were flung around the pale shinigami's neck.

Byakuya couldn't hold back a tiny smile at his Vice Captain's reaction. "I never knew you were a narcissist, Renji," he said quietly, only to receive a solid punch to his arm.

"You know what I meant, and that's not it!"

"I know."

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**...Kay, so I know they're a little OOC, but I thought it was cute. R&R please. :)**

_kenseikan - hairpiece worn by head of the Kuchiki family  
_

_ginpaku kazahana no uzuginu - really pale, finely woven scarf worn by the head of the Kuchiki family_

_yukata - really light kimono made of cotton, worn for sleeping or during the summer  
_


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